Katrina Lenk (born November 26, 1974) is an American actress, singer, musician, and songwriter. Lenk originated the role of Dina in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

The Band's Visit ''The Band's Visit'' ( he, ביקור התזמורת, Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) is a 2007 comedy-drama film, directed and written by Eran Kolirin, and starring Saleh Bakri, Ronit Elkabetz, Sasson Gabai and Uri Gavriel. It is an international co-pro ...

'', a performance for which she won the 2018

Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is awarded to the best actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly ...

. She also performed the lead role of Bobbie in the 2021 gender-swapped revival of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

's musical ''

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

''. Lenk's additional stage credits include roles in the Broadway productions of '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', ''

Once Once means a one-time occurrence. Once may refer to: Music * ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten'' * ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper * ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...

'', and ''

Indecent Inappropriateness refers to standards or ethics that are typically viewed as being negative in a society. It differs from things that are illicit in that inappropriate behavior does not necessarily have any accompanying legal ramifications. Co ...

'', as well as roles in regional theater productions.

Early life and education

Lenk was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

to a family of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

an descent. She attended Barrington High School in

Barrington, Illinois Barrington is a village in Cook County and Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,722 at the 2020 census. A northwest suburb of Chicago, the area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks, and horse trails in a country-s ...

. She graduated from the School of Music at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1997, majoring in viola performance and studying voice and musical theatre.

Career

Lenk appeared as Yitzak in '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' at the Broadway Theatre, Chicago, in May 2001. She performed as

Linda Lovelace Linda Lovelace (born Linda Susan Boreman; January 10, 1949 – April 22, 2002) was an American pornographic actress who became famous for her performance in the 1972 hardcore film '' Deep Throat''. Although the film was an enormous success, Bor ...

in the musical '' Lovelace: A Rock Musical'' in 2008 at the

Hayworth Theatre The Hayworth Theatre is a theater and performing arts center at 2511 Wilshire Boulevard in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The facility houses 99-seat, 42-seat and 49-seat auditoriums and a 1,500 square-foot ballroom used f ...

, Los Angeles, about which the ''

L. A. Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' wrote: "As Linda, Katrina Lenk is sensational—she has a dozen nuanced smiles that range from innocent and shattered to grateful, in order to express whatever passes as kindness when, say, a male co-star (Josh Greene) promises to make their scene fun." She made her

debut in ''

The Miracle Worker ''The Miracle Worker'' refers to a broadcast, a play and various other adaptations of Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography '' The Story of My Life''. The first of these works was a 1957 ''Playhouse 90'' broadcast written by William Gibson and st ...

'' in March 2010 as the understudy for the roles of Annie Sullivan and Kate Keller. She joined the cast of the Broadway

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' in May 2013, in the role of Réza, the violinist. In 2015 she appeared in the

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented student ...

world premiere of ''

'' by

Paula Vogel Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright who received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''How I Learned to Drive.'' A longtime teacher, Vogel spent the bulk of her academic career – from 1984 to 2008 – at Bro ...

. She then appeared in the 2016

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production at the Vineyard Theatre, followed by the Broadway production at the Cort Theatre in 2017. In her review for ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'', Linda Winer noted the "...dancing, singing actors as the earthy, sensual Katrina Lenk." For her performance she received the 2017

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence. A performance of the play was filmed for television and broadcast on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

in November 2017. Lenk appeared on Broadway as Dina in the 2017 musical ''

'', for which she won the 2018

. Craig Nakano of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote: "For Lenk, the role is another turning point. After studying music and theater at Northwestern University, Lenk devoted herself to theater in California.... it’s her poignant, heart-aching turn as Dina that is poised to make her a star." She is the creator of musical persona and stage act Moxy Phinx. Lenk starred in the lead role of Bobbie, opposite

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...

as Joanne, in a gender-swapped revival of

's ''

'', which started previews on Broadway at the

Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (formerly the Royale Theatre and the John Golden Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 242 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theat ...

on March 2 and was scheduled to open on March 22, 2020, until delayed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The production resumed previews on November 15, 2021, for an opening date of December 9, 2021. Lenk also appeared in the final season of ''

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

'', playing the role of Clare.

Personal Life

She has been in a relationship with actor

Andrew Rothenberg Andrew Rothenberg (born January 26, 1969) is an American stage, television and film actor. Rothenberg is known for recurring roles in major television series, including Agent Phil Schlatter on '' Weeds'' and his portrayal of Malcolm on the H ...

since 2012.

Theatre

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * *
Moxy Phinx
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenk, Katrina Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American women singers American women songwriters American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American women screenwriters Actresses from Chicago Northwestern University alumni Theatre World Award winners Grammy Award winners Tony Award winners 21st-century American singers 1974 births